2022 Formula One Season Recap

The 2022 season is over, it has come to an end and what a year it’s been!

The beginning of the season saw Ferrari dominating the first race with a 1-2 from drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Bahrain and then a 2-3 in Saudi Arabia. The season looked hopeful for Ferrari with the early lead they took in both the drivers and constructors’ championship but that was all to change when Red Bull showed up on the scene and soon enough took the lead.

With Max Verstappen winning in Saudi Arabia then again in Italy and the following 3 races he quickly took control of the competition, following up in Monaco with a win from Sergio Perez, Red Bull made their way to the top of the table.

Red Bull were unbeaten for 6 races in a row with Max Verstappen winning 5 and Sergio Perez 1.

They dominated the field letting no one get anywhere near them, Adrian Newey, the chief technical officer for Red Bull, helped design a monster of a car that not only won races but destroyed and dominated the competition. Red Bull were unmatched this season only on a few occasions having anyone else win a race.

On round 18 of the season Verstappen managed to clinch his second World Championship with a 113-point lead.

This season was full of accomplishments for not only drivers but teams as well. With Verstappen becoming the first driver to win 15 races in one season, beating Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 and Sebastian Vettel’s record of 14; he also was able to beat the record of most points scored in a championship, finishing the season off with a record-breaking 454 points. Verstappen also manged to bring Red Bull their second consecutive title which hasn’t been done since Vettel in 2011, where he went on to win another two.

Along with these records being broken more excitement was to come from this year. We had maiden winners in the form of Carlos Sainz winning at Silverstone, and George Russell winning in Brazil; and the only other person to be on the podium this year that wasn’t in the top three teams, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes, was McLarens own Lando Norris, titled best of the rest this season.

Not everything was smooth sailing especially for McLarens Daniel Riccardo. Riccardo struggled throughout the season to match teammate Norris, and to even be consecutively finishing in the points positions. With issues not disclosed to the public he couldn’t perform to the standard that Mclaren expected and in turn they bought his contract out and freed up the second seat in the team for next year, which we later found out would go to Alpine’s prodigy Oscar Piastri. This left Riccardo without a seat for next year.

Riccardo’s struggles were not the only upsets we had this season, 4-time World Champion and activist Sebastian Vettel announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season to many fans’ dismays. A man loved by all; Vettel will be missed around the paddock. He was much more than a driver with himself and Lewis Hamilton speaking out against wrong doings and things they believed in from Black Lives Matter to LGBTQ+ rights, to environmental and climate issues, Vettel was a voice of change and that is a legacy he hopes to be remembered by.

We also lost Mick Schumacher this year as he was replaced by Niko Hulkenberg who will drive the second seat in Haas next year.

This season was full of close battles, tough racing and heartbreak but without these it wouldn’t be Formula One. To round it all up Fernando Alonso of Alpine announced he would be taking Sebastian Vettel’s seat at Aston Martin, freeing up a space in the French team, which later was taken by none other than the French man himself Pierre Gasly.

Seats are opening up and new and old talent are coming to the grid for next year; Alonso to Aston Martin, Gasly to Alpine, and in a shocking turn of events Formula E champion Nick Devries takes Gasly’s old seat at Alpha Tauri. Not only this but we said goodbye to Nicholas Latifi of Williams and said hello to Formula 2 driver Logan Sargent from the United States.

All in all, it has been one heck of a year and we can’t wait for next season to begin.

©Lucy Roberts 2022